In this prayer, the king exposes his own weakness. He is falling apart in a physical sense; his soul is weakened; the social bonds that embed him in a flourishing community are failing, and now his neighbors hate him or ignore him. Yet the king whose weakness dominates the center of the psalm turns around after praying fervently to His Father and tells us, "Be strong. Act like men. Show some heart, because you hope in the LORD."
The lesson, I trust, is pretty clear: godly manliness is not afraid to be weak, to show weakness — but godly manliness takes weakness to God in prayer, commits itself to His powerful care, and finds new strength in His answer. This is true, of course, not just for men but for women too. In the metaphorical terms of the psalm, you are flesh, water, dust — but God is rock. We are weak; our eyes waste away, lives spent in sorrow and years in sighing; we are like broken shards of pottery, but our Rock cannot wear away. He endures — and when we connect with Him through prayer, His strength, His rockiness unbroken sustains us, buoys us up, makes us strong so that we can act like men and press on with courageous, hopeful hearts. Is this your vision of the Christian life, of the human condition? It ought to be, for it is your king's.
If your strength has failed, then listen to your king, for his strength failed too. He prays so that you can overhear his prayer, imitate him in praying it, and learn to take courage and strength from your God, your rock.
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Caleb Nelson grew up in Ft. Collins, CO. Born into a Christian home, where he eventually became the eldest of 11 children, he has been a lifelong Presbyterian. He professed faith at the age of six, and was homeschooled through high school. He then attended Patrick Henry College...
